Helping high school students explore science and lab medicine!
The Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology offers a wide range of educational programs that can lead to a multitude of career options. To help expose high school students to some of these choices, students and trainees in the department organise the annual REACH high school outreach event, led by CLAMPS, the Departments’ graduate student union.
This year the event was organised by MHSc in Laboratory Medicine graduate student, Vanessa Vuong, and Diagnostic and Molecular Pathology Resident, Dr. Alexander Oberc, and took place earlier this month.
The day kicked off with a student panel where representatives from some of LMP’s programs shared their experiences and advice. The panel featured Dr. Alexander Oberc (Diagnostic and Molecular Pathology Resident), Dr. Kumudha Sridhar (Medical Microbiology Resident), Anita Hu (MD/PhD student) and Cassandra Stan (recent MHSc in Laboratory Medicine graduate and now a working Embryologist).
Afterwards Dr. Amy Wong, Assistant Professor in LMP and Stem Cell and Cancer Biology Scientist at SickKids gave an engaging overview of her career and current work.
After a networking lunch, the attendees split up into groups to join a variety of interactive activities.
Dr. Scott Yuzwa, an expert in neurodevelopment and Assistant Professor in LMP, gave tours of the LMP labs on the 6th floor of the Medical Sciences Building.
Downstairs, hosted and supported by the Division of Teaching Labs staff, Tao Liang and Artur Jakubowski, two hands-on workshops were held. Postdoctoral Training Program in Clinical Microbiology trainee Dr. Andra Banete ran a workshop on microbiology and Dr. Alexander Oberc ran a histology exercise to introduce them to pathology.
Dr. Oberc commented, “I really enjoyed chatting with high school students and running a workshop with them. I think they got great exposure to the many careers within lab medicine which can fit their individual skills and interests. I could remember what it felt to be in their shoes, trying to decide what to do after high school (even though that was a long time ago), and I feel this event highlighted the next steps they could take in their education”.
Vanessa added, “I think the event certainly benefited students considering careers outside the ‘traditional’ health care pathways, such as being an embryologist or working as a medical laboratory assistant. When I was a high school student, I thought being a doctor or nurse were the only options to work in health care, so it would have benefitted me to learn about these different career options. It was great seeing the students eager to participate and ask questions!”
One of the high school students there on the day commented, “I was able to observe what it was like to be in a lab for the first time - it was like stepping into my future university life! I also really enjoyed speaking to the panelists and I learned a lot from them. It was nice to speak to actual healthcare and science professionals instead of doing generic research online”.
Another added, “The REACH program is a valuable workshop for individuals uncertain about their future career paths. It broadens horizons by exposing participants to careers they may not have considered and offers firsthand experiences in these fields, going beyond second-hand accounts from friends or family. It also provides the opportunity to ask professionals in these sectors questions about their work or even just about education”.
Sign up to our mailing list to be the first to hear about REACH 2026! (high school option is at the bottom of the form).
If you are a faculty member or learner in LMP and want to get involved in next year’s event, let us know by emailing lmp.communications@utoronto.ca
Find out more last years event in Inspiring the next generation: pathways to a future in science and healthcare
This story showcases the following pillars of the LMP strategic plan: Inclusive Community (pillar 1), Dynamic Collaboration (pillar 2) and Agile Education (pillar 5)
